Automobile hood lock assembly



H. S. JANDUS AUTOMOBILE HOOD LOCK ASSEMBLY v July 3, 1951 Filed 001;.24, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Eran Z:.z.- Hmamr 5. JANDUS y 1951 Hjs. JANDUS2,558,959

' AUTOMOBILE HOOD LOCK ASSEMBLY Filed 001 24, 1947 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2ITZEIfiZ-Eb HERBERT 5. JAlvous :24 yw MM Patented July 3, 1951 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE Houdaille-Hershey Corporation, Detroit, Mich.

a corporation of Michigan Application October 24, 1947, Serial No.781,797

7 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved closure fastening device, andparticularly to an improved latching device for effecting the securementof a hood of an automobile vehicle in a closed position with respect tothe engine compartment. 5 While not limited thereto, this invention isparticularly adaptable for use in latching alligator" type hoods forautomotive vehicles, i. e., hoods which are pivoted to the body of thevehicle about a horizontal axis located at the rear end of the hood. Ahood latch constructed in accordance with this invention will effect therigid securement of such hood in its closed position irrespective ofvariations in dimensions encountered in normal manufacturing practice orwear of the hood or its cooperating body parts. Furthermore, a hoodlatch embodying this invention may be manually released from a fullylocked position only from the interior of the passenger compartment ofthe vehicle and such initial release renders a safety latch membereffective which permits only a slight opening movement of the hoodsufficient for the operator or a service attendant to insert his fingersunder the hood t engage the safety latch and effect the complete releaseof the front end of the hood from the body portion of the vehicle.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide an improvedclosure fastening device, characterized by the simplicity and ease ofmanufacture and assembly of its components, and by the convenience andreliability of its operation. aiQA particular object of this inventionis to proitiiie a latching mechanism fo automobile hoods which may beconveniently adjusted to compenare for variation in dimensions of thehood and its cooperating body parts, or for wear of such parts, so as toattain and maintain a snug securement of the hood on the body portion ofthe vehicle, thereby eliminating the possibility of rattles or otherforms of obnoxious vibrations developing.

A further object of this invention is to provide an automotive hoodlatching device comprising both primary and secondary latching elements,the primary latching element being effective to secure the hood in fullyclosed position and being operable to unlatch the hood by a controldevice located within the passenger compartment of the vehicle; thesecondary latching device being effective to positively restrict theinitial opening movement of the hood after release of the primarylatching mechanism to eliminate the possibility of inadvertent openingof the hood by air currents while driving, and being manually operableto a full release position by the insertion of the fingers of theoperator under the partially opened hood.

The specific nature of this invention, as well as other objects andadvantages thereof, will clearl appear from the following detaileddescription of the annexed sheets of .drawings which, by way ofpreferred example only, illustrate one embodiment of the invention Onthe drawings:

Figure 1 is a partial vertical sectional view taken through the frontend of an automotive vehicle hood and showing the elements of a latchingmechanism embodying this invention in locked position;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the bottom plate assemblage of elementsof a hood latch embodying this invention, showing however the latchkeeper of the movable portion of the hood in section;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the bottom plate assemblage;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the bottom plate assemblage; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged scale partial sectional view taken on the planeVV of Figure 2.

As shown on the drawings:

As previously indicated, this invention finds a particularly desirableapplication in effecting the fastening of the lid portion of anautomotive vehicle hood to the fixed body portion of such vehicle. Thus,in Figure 1, a portion III of the auto body is shown which defines theengine enclosure, and a hood element ll provides a top closure for suchengine compartment. As is customary, the hood element I l is pivotallysecured to the vehicle body at a point near its rear end by any one ofseveral well known forms of hood mountings (not shown). A top supportbracket [2 having a generally horizontal base portion l2ais secured inany conventional manner, as by spot welding or riveting to the interiorof hood element ll near the front end thereof. Likewise, a bottomsupport element I3 of generally platelike configuration is secured in ahorizontal position to the top inside edge of the engine compartmentside walls I0.

A pair of cars lZb are punched out of the base portion l2a of the topsupport l2 to define a pivotal mounting for a depending keeper elementH, which has the top end thereof pivotally mounted to ears l2b by meansof a pin l5. Also, an aperture He is punched into the bottom wall 12a toslidably accommodate a striker spring guide element l6 which comprises agenerally U-slilped mei'nberhaving vertical side wall portIons its and ahorizontal bottom wall portion lib. The top ends of the vertical sidewall portions Ila are deflected outwardly as indicated at Ilc so as toprevent the guide element I8 from dropping through the aperture Ilc. Astriker spring I1 is supported within the striker spring guide I8 and issufllciently extensible so as to normally urge the striker spring guideI8 downwardly to the full extent permitted by the stop Ilc. The extentof such downward projection of the striker guide I8 and striker springI1 is selected as to be substantially greater than the availableclearance between the top support I2 and bottom plate I8 in the closedposition of the hood II. Hence, in such closed position, the strikerspring guide I! is moved upwardly with respect to support I2,compressing the spring I! and thus maintaining a continual upward biasupon the movable hood part I I.

A generally rectangular aperture I8a is provided in bottom plate I8 soas to permit the bottom portion of the keeper Il to project through thebottom plate I8 in the closed position of hood II. The bottom portion ofkeeper Il is provided on its rear side with a primary latching orabutment surface Ila and on its front side. and near the lower endthereof, with a secondary or safety latching surface Ilb. In addition,the central portion of keeper Il is transversely enlarged, as indicatedat I lc, so as to provide a convenient surface for engagement by thefingers of the operator in effecting the release of the keeper from itssafety latching position. Hence, the keeper Il may be convenientlyformed by welded assemblage of two stampings, each stamping fanningone-half of the complete keeper element as determined by a verticalplane of division, as best'shown in Figures 2 and 3.

In the fully closed position of the hood I I, the primary latchingsurface Ila is disposed beneath but adjacent to the bottom of thesupport plate I8. A latch element I8 is then provided which is movablymounted on the support plate I8 and arranged to be manually controlledso as to move to and from a position of latching engagement with primarylatching surface Ila of the keeper In accordance with this invention,the latch I8 comprises a member having an elongated body portion whichdefines an elongated slot I8b. Along one side of the body portion I8a,an integral projection I8c is provided, the bottom surface Ila of whichcooperates with the primary abutment surface Ila in latchingrelationship. Preferably, the bottom surface I is inclined somewhat withrespect to the horizontal in the manner best illustrated in Figure 4. Ifthe vertical position of the latch I8 is fixed relative to plate I8 byhaving such latch abut against the bottom surface of plate I3, it istherefore apparent that the inclined cam surface I8d may effect a snuglocking engagement with primary abutment surface Ila even though thevertical position of such abutment surface varies over a considerablerange. Those skilled in the art will recognize that a substantialvertical variation in the position of abutment surface Ila may beexpected in such latch assembly. In the first place, such assemblies aregenerally manufactured by stamping or similar large quantity productionprocesses which necessarily involve a substantial variation indimensions of the individual components. Furthermore, the verticalposition of the abutment surface Ila depends upon the position of'themovable hood element with respect to the fixed hood side walls Ill. Thehood element II being a relatively massive piece of thin walled metalmay obviously involve a substantial variation in contour. All of suchvariations in the relative vertical position of the keeper ll withrespect to the bottom plate I8 may be compensated for and a snuglatching engagement nevertheless secured by properly positioning-theinclined cam surface I8d of the latch I8 with respect to the keeperabutment surface Ila.

In accordance with this invention, the elongated slot I8b provided inthe body portion of the latch I8 is utilized to eiIect a selectiveposition mounting of the latch I8 with respect to the bottom plate I8.As best shown in Figure 5, the

mounting of the latch I8 is accomplished by a headed bolt I8 which issupported in a suitable hole lie in bottom plate I8 and passes throughthe slot I8b of the latch. To effect the pivotal mounting of the latchI8 on the bolt I8 at any desired position of such bolt along the slotI8b, a retaining sleeve 20 is provided which is slipped over the shankportion of the bolt I9 and has a reduced diameter portion 20a which isrotatably insertable in the aperture I8c in the bottom supporting plateI8. An enlarged head portion III) on the sleeve 20 prevents such sleevefrom dropping through the aperture I30. A nut 2| and lock nut 2Ia arethen threaded upon the upwardly projecting end of bolt I9 and a rigidclamping of the latch I8 to the sleeve 20 is thereby effected. Hence thepivotal mounting point of the latch I8 may be selected at any pointalong the length of the slot I8b.

Such variations in the location of the pivotal mounting of the latch I8will obviously produce a corresponding variation in the portion of theinclined cam surface I8d which is brought into overlying relationshipwith respect to the primary abutment surface Ila of the keeper Il. Inthe initial assembly of the latch. the pivotal position of the latch I8may therefore be conveniently adjusted so as to produce a snuginterengagement of the cam-like latching surface I8d with the keeper Il.Furthermore, after the vehicle is in service, it is quite common thatthe relative position of the keeper Il with respect to the latch I8 willchange substantially due to wear or deformation of the varioussupporting parts. Any such looseness, or equally well, any undesirabletightness of engagement, between the latch I8 and keeper Il may beimmediately removed by resetting the pivotal position of the latch I8with respect to the pivot bolt I9.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that there is a variety ofmechanism available for producing a manual shifting of the latch I8about its pivot bolt I8 to obtain the locking and unlocking of thekeeper Il. In application of the latch to the locking of an automotivevehicle hood, it is generally desired that the unlocking of the primarylatch be capable of accomplishment only from the insideof the passengercompartment of the vehicle. This may be conveniently accomplished inaccordance with this invention by the provision of an actuating lever 22which has one end 22a pivotallv mounted to the supporting plate I3 by arivet 28. The other end of the actuating lever 22 has an upturned endportion 22b projectin through a suitable aperture lid in bottom plate I3and is secured in any conventional manner to an end of a control rod orwire 2l which extends to a suitable operating knob or lever (not shown)mounted within the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

Since the actuating lever 22 is not concentrically mounted with respectto the latch I8, it is obvious that some form of pin and slotconnection, or the equivalent, is required between actuating lever 22and latch I8 in order that pivotal movements of the actuating lever willbe converted into pivotal movements of the latch l8. Hence, theelongated slot I8b of the latching I8 is utilized for a second functionin accomplishing the interconnection of the actuating lever 22 and thelatch I8. An integral, depending projection 220 is formed on theactuating lever 22 and projects into the slot [8b. By virtue of suchinterconnection, clockwise pivotal movement of actuating lever 22 (asviewed in Figure 2) will produce counterclockwise pivotal movement oflatch I8 to move the latch I8 into cooperative engagement with thekeeper I4 while counterclockwise movement of the actuating lever 22 willobviously effect reverse movement of latch I8 to its unlocking position.To resiliently urge the latch I8 toward its locking position withrespect to the keeper I4, a tension spring 25 is provided which has onehooked end secured to the upstanding end 22b of the actuating lever 22and the other hooked end engaged by an integral upstanding projectionI3e stamped from the bottom plate I3.

In some instances, it may be desirable to provide additional verticalsupport for the latch I8 and the actuating lever 22 and such may beprovided by an arcuately shaped bracket 26 which is secured in dependingrelationship to the support plate I3 by rivets 26a and snugly underliesand supports the latch I8, which, in turn, provides vertical support forthe actuating lever 22.

To provide a secondary, or safety latching function, the aperture l3a inbottom support plate I3, which receives the keeper I4, is suitabldimensioned with respect to the hook-like bottom end of the keeper I4which defines the secondary latching surface I4b so as to be engaged bysuch latching surface as the hood II is raised following the release ofprimary latch I8 from primary abutment surface I4a. To insure that suchengagement will occur, a spring 28' is provided which is mounted aroundkeeper supporting pin I5 and operates between the keeper I4 and the topsupport bracket I2 to impart a clockwise pivotal bias to the keeper I4which would insure that the secondary abutment surface I4b will alwaysbe raised in a path to intersect the front edge portion of the apertureI3a.

Hence, upon the release of the primary latch IB by the manipulation ofthe appropriate knob or lever in the passenger compartment of thevehicle, the hood element I I will be raised a short distance by theforce of striker spring Il until the secondary abutment surface I4b ofthe keeper engages the edge of bottom plate aperture I341. The hood IIis then positively locked against further opening movement and thelocking action is completely out of control of any person located withinthe passenger compartment of the vehicle. There is, therefore, nopossibility that the inadvertent release of the primary latch I8 whilethe vehicle is moving will produce a full opening of the hood II byvirtue of the air currents acting thereon.

To release the keeper I4 from its safety latching position, it is onlynecessary that the fingers of the operator be inserted under the frontedge of the partially opened hood element II and the keeper element I4be manually moved in a counstriker spring terclockwise directionsufficient to release the sec ondary abutment surface I4b from itslocking engagement with the walls defining aperture I3a. Thereupon, thehood II may be fully opened to provide access to the engine compartmentof the vehicle.

Prior to closing of the hood II, the control knob (not shown) will, ofcourse, have been released and the primary latch I8 returned to itslatching position by the force of spring 25. As the hood element I I islowered to its closed position, the striker spring guide I6 contacts thebottom plate I3 and the downward movement of the hood II is cushioned bycompression of IT. Concurrently, an inclined camming surface I4c formedon the rear side of keeper I4 engages the front edge of the latch I8 andcams such latch in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 2, topermit the keeper I4 to pass downwardly through the aperture I3a. Ofcourse, in so doing, the keeper I 4 acts as a centering guide to thedownward movement of the hood II. As soon as the primary abutmentsurface I4a passes into alignment with the camlike latching surface I8dof the latch I8, the latch will immediately pivot into latchingengagement therewith under the bias of the spring 25.

It is, therefore, apparent that the closure latching constructionembodying this invention comprises components which are of extremelysimple configuration and which may be economically manufactured andassembled. Furthermore, the feature of adjustably positioning the latchl8 with respect to the keeper I4 permits the convenient adjustment ofthe latch elements to compensate for variations in relative positions ofthe keeper and the latch so that the latch mechanism may, at any time,be adjusted to effect a snug securement of any two relatively movableparts of a closure.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of constructionmay be modified through a wide range without departing from theprinciples of this invention and it is, therefore, not

, the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise thannecessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with a pair of cooperating parts which are relativelymovable along a fixed path between proximate and remote positions, alatch structure for securing said parts in said proximate positioncomprising a keeper secured to one of said parts, a latch having a bodyportion and a projecting latching surface engageable with said keeper,said body portion having an elongated slot, and means including a pinpassing through said slot for pivotally mounting said latch to the otherof said parts, said last mentioned means permitting the relativeposition of said latch with respect to said keeper to be selectivelyvaried.

2. In combination with a pair of cooperating parts which are relativelymovable along a fixed path between proximate and remote positions, alatch structure for securing said parts in said proximate positioncomprising a keeper secured to one of said parts, a latch having a bodyportion and a, projecting latching surface engageable with said keeper,said body portion having an elongated slot, and means including a pinpassing through said slot for pivotally mounting said latch to the otherof said parts, said slot permitting the relative position of said latchwith respect to said keeper to be selectively varied,

an abutment surface on said keeper, said latching surface on said latchbeing engageable with said abutment surface to prevent relative movementof said parts, at least one of said surfaces being angularly disposedwith respect to said path of movement, whereby the selective relativeposition of said keeper and latch provides adjustment of the relativepositions of said parts in their proximate position.

3. In an automotive vehicle having a, compartment and a cover movablealong a fixed path between open and closed positions with respect tosaid compartment, the improvement omprising a support plate secured tosaid compartment, a pivot pin mounted on said plate, a latch memberhaving an elongated slot receiving said pin, means for securing saidlatch for pivotal movement on said pin in any selected position of saidpin along said slot, a keeper secured to said lid, an abutment surfaceon said keeper, and a latching surface on said latch engageable withsaid abutment surface to lock said cover to said compartment, at leastone of said surfaces being angularly disposed with respect to said pathof movement of said cover, whereby the selective relative position ofsaid latch on said pin provides adjustment of the relative position ofsaid cover with respect to said compartment in its closed position.

4. In an automotive vehicle having a compartment and a cover movablealong a fixed path between open and closed positions with respect tosaid compartment, the improvement comprising a support plate secured tosaid compartment, a pivot pin mounted on said plate, a latch memberhaving an elongated slot receiving said pin, means for securing saidlatch member for pivotal movement on said pin in any selected positionof said pin along said slot, a keeper secured to said lid and having anabutment surface transversely disposed with respect to the path ofmovement of said cover, the latch having a portion thereof movable intoengagement with said keeper abutment surface to lock said cover to saidcompartment, and a manually operable latch actuating member pivotallymounted on said plate, said actuating lever having a projection engagingsaid slot to thereby shift said latch to and from its keeper engagingposition.

5. In combination with a pair of cooperating parts which are relativelymovable along a, fixed path between proximate and remote positions, alatch structure for securing said parts in said proximate positioncomprising a, keeper secured to one of said parts, a latch having a,body portion and a projecting latching surface engageablewith saidkeeper, said body portion having an elongated slot, and means includinga pin passing through said slot for pivotally mounting said latch to theother of said parts, said slot permitting the relative position of saidlatch with tion.

6. In a latch mechanism for association with a closure member and acooperating member, a keeper mounted on one of said members and having alatching abutment, a latch on the other 10 of said members having anelongated cam surface presenting an engaging surface of increasingelevation with respect to the other of said members and with respect tosaid latching abutment on said keeper from one end of said cam surfaceto the other, means pivotally mounting said latch on the other of saidmembers, said means being selectively operable to position the pivotalaxis of said latch into various positions relative to the latchedposition of said keeper abutment, for selectively effecting latchingengagement of said abutment with different selected portions of said camsurface offset at different elevations with respect to said latchingabutment of said keeper, and means for pivoting said latch out oflatching engagement with said latching abutment of said keeper.

7. In combination with a pair of cooperating parts which are relativelymovable along a fixed path between proximate and remote positions, a

latch structure for securing said parts in said proximate positioncomprising a keeper secured to one of said parts, a latch pivotallysecured to the other of said parts, said latch having a body portion anda projecting elongated latching surface spaced varying distances fromthe other of said parts along its length and being engageable with saidkeeper, said body portion having an elongated slot, a pin pivotallymounted in the other of said parts and passing through said slot,

means securing said latch to said pin within said slot at variouspositions therealong to pivotally mount said latch to the other of saidparts at various positions along said slot to selectively vary theposition of said pin along said slot and H the pivotal axis of saidlatch, to present surfaces of varying elevation withrespect to saidkeeper for engagement therewith, and a manually movable actuating memberhaving connection with said latch for shifting the latch about itspivotal axis.

HERBERT S. J ANDUS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,845,335 Rosendahl Feb. 16, 193200 2,2 0,053 Hill et al Jan. 13, 1942 2,286,740 Krause June 16, 1942

